Interesting situation for David Honzik - he is due back sometime in Oct after off-season shoulder surgery, but since he was traded in the summer to one of the worst teams in the QMJHL (Cape Breton), I thought he was in tough to earn an NHL contract (behind Luongo, Schneider, Lack, and Cannata)

And Cape Breton has come out of the gates with a 2-6-2-2 record, stands 16th out of 18 teams, and their GM has already been fired.

So, where is the good news for Honzik? Well, their current goaltending tandem sits at:

Holy shit, Mallet destroyed Ruegsegger with a big hit at the hash marks in the Abbotsford zone - and the inevitable response shortly thereafter - Carter Bancks challenges Mallet to a fight, and Mallet beats the hell out of him! Wow!

I'm just damn happy we have Mallete in the organization. I was impressed with his fighting skills in the Q from the vids I saw, but now that I have seen it up close I'm very impress, they guy is a brawler. And apparently he can play the game as well. I could see him becoming a fan favorite, not afraid to uspet the apple cart like Cooke but can back it up as well. Amazing hit he laid out.

As the game wore on Kassian turned into Gassedian. The kid has issues with his stamina. you can see him stop skating after a short burst like he just doesn't have it in him to move his feet, very strange. Probably has a terrible V02 Max or whatever you call it.

I don't know Topper, wasn't all that impressed with Rodin. Agreed about Schroeder, just don't see him becoming a solid pro NHL'er.

I could see Lack playing the NHL one day. Agreed about Joslin, horrible. Sauve did nothing to impress me, as well as Connauton. Sort of put off by how Tanev played. You would think he'd be a man amongst boys out there.

"I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? - Plastics." - The Graduate

RoyalDude wrote: Sort of put off by how Tanev played. You would think he'd be a man amongst boys out there.

I didn't watch the game so I'm talking out of my ass, but I wonder if what makes Tanev successful at the NHL level (simple hockey, smart decisions, low-risk play etc.) makes him less noticeable in the minors.

^^^Tanev and Connauton have been getting tons of ice time, and overall I think they looked good - of course, Tanev looks more comfortable in his own zone, and Connauton in the opposition's. Tanev made a lot of smart plays - breaking up a glorious opportunity with a stick check on a memorable one - however, he's looking tentative in the offensive zone - shots wide, hurried, etc.

I know he worked on his shot a lot over the summer, and reports from the first couple of games were that it had paid off, and he was rifling it from everywhere... however, the Wolves powerplay has looked awful and I think Tanev has lost some offensive confidence since the big start. Hopefully he can get a few goals/points, and get it back.

"A lot of people saw your fight, and saw your hit, and I know that's what you want to bring to this team, isn't it?""Yeah, It's my strength, I'm a big guy, I fight, I hit, I just play my strengths, and here we go - we're going to see what happens.""Have you got the sense that your teammates feed off that when they see you perform the way you did personally this evening?""Yeah, it's true, the guys looking at me and say this guy can fight for the team, and he can work for the team, and, eh, that's me."

In fact, I think Mallet may be a better fighter than... well, any other Canuck...

Who's better?

Bieksa?Weise?Volpatti?Kassian?

Nope - I think Mallet is it. In 2010-11 he was Rimouski's "goon"... but then he had to go and become an offensive top 6 force for them in 2011-12!